Back in June Gregory O'Callaghan appeared before magistrates in Coventry after his dog relieved himself (No.2-wise) on a pavement.

At first the 37-year-old pleaded not guilty, saying he wasn't there when his dog let rip, so how could it be his fault? The court told him that according to the recently-introduced Dog Fouling Land Act (this is true by the way) he was responsible for his pet's excrement whether he was present or not. And because they were taking things seriously Gregory was ordered to cough up a #450 fine and costs.

Last week Portuguese champions Boavista appeared before UEFA's disciplinary committee after a large section of their fans kept up a torrent of vile racist abuse against Emile Heskey during their recent Champions League home match.

It was not a one-off, as their black striker Silva confirmed when he said: "The abuse Heskey got was normal." After the game, a spokesman said UEFA now took racism extremely seriously and they would haul Boavista over the coals. And so we awaited the severe punishment.

Boavista were fined just over #9,000.

This for a club which earned #10 million from the Champions League first group stages alone and could earn as much again now they have progressed to the second stage.

UEFA's message? Let thousands of your fans hurl racist bile for 90 minutes on a black player and we will hit you with the equivalent of 20 people letting their dogs do a whoopsy on the pavement.

A year ago UEFA declared their intention to rid the European game of racism, claiming the only way to do it was to hit hard the clubs who allowed it to fester.

Clearly they were lying. And their lies disgrace football far more than any of the racists.